Cataloguing device



March 1938- v c. A. LIMBACH 2,1

CATALOGUING DEVICE Fil ed March 17, 1936 2 sheets-sheet 1 v H u I I Bi ATTORNEYS wn-mzss s Mamh 8, 193%. c; L MBACH 2,11%?99 CATALOGUING DEVICE Filed March 17, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESSES v INVENTOR Gur'ib's flllz/mbach/ W TTORNEY-S Patented Mar. 8, 1938 UNITED STATES nane OFFEQE Application March 17 9 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in cataloguing devices and has particular relation to cataloguing devices for use in collecting stamps and similar items.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved cataloguing device for the collecting and mounting of samples, stamps and similar items, which will afiord ample protection to the item but, nevertheless, clearly display it to view; which firmly holds the item so that it will not he accidentally displaced; which is constructed so that the item may be readily inserted or removed; which is supplied with panels Where information or data concerning the item may be inscribed, and which can be filed in. compact and convenient form having indexing means whereby the desired item can be immediately identified.

Heretofore philatelists have commonly catalogued and mounted their stamps in albums, 20 which necessarily are relatively cumbersome, making the study of any individual stamp of the collection difiicult. Furthermore, it is diificult to provide a satisfactory indexing system for an album collection. Mounting the stamps in an album also presents difficulties as the stamps are often mutilated or damaged and it requires considerable time and patience to properly secure the stamps in the album. A further difficulty is presented by the recent trend toward specialization in collecting .as distinguished from general collecting and album collecting is not sufficiently flexible to provide for the many different types of specialization.

It is a particular object of the present invention to eliminate the above mentioned and other difiiculties commonly encountered by philatelists and to provide an improved and highly flexible cataloguing device for collecting stamps which permits of .all types of specialization, which is convenient to handle, which simplifies the insertion and removal of stamps, minimizing the danger of mutilating them, which is compact in form and provided with convenient indexing means, and which has suitable panels on which information relative to the collected item may be inscribed.

The objects of the present invention are broadly accomplished by providing a catalogue card of convenient dimensions and of greater thickness than the ordinary library card, and forming therein a pocket or chamber to receive a casing or protecting cover formed of transparent material in which the stamp or other item is disposed. A suitable window or opening is provided to display the stamp, and preferably, Suitable means 1936, Serial No. 69,253

are employed to lock and retain the casing in position after it has been inserted in the pocket. The retaining member may be displayed through another window opening to provide a panel on which suitable information may be inscribed. A projecting index tab may also be .associated with the card.

For a fuller understanding of the invention reference should be had to the accompanying drawings in which-- Fig. 1 is a plan view of the preferred form of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view in the direction of the arrows on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of background paper which may be used in association with my invention;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the transparent casing or protecting member used in the device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the retaining member used in the preferred form of my invention;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a modified form of my invention;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view in the direction of the arrows on the line 1'! of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the retaining member used in the form of my invention shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of another modified form of my invention with portions broken away to reveal the intern-a1 structure thereof; and

Fig. 10 is a sectional view in the direction of the arrows on the line Ill-lll of Fig. 9.

In each of the forms of my invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings there is provided a master card having a pocket formed therein, which receives a transparent casing having a stamp or other item disposed therein and displayed through a window opening formed in the master card, and also a retaining member for holding the casing in position in the card and which likewise is disposed in the pocket and a portion of which is displayed through a second window opening.

The master card in each of the forms of my invention is indicated by the numeral l2 and is preferably the same length and width .as any of the standard size filing cards, so that it may be filed in the standard size filing cabinets and drawers now in use. However, it is to be understood that the master card may be made in any .desired size. A central pocket indicated by the numeral I4 is provided in the card for accommodating the casing containing the item to be collected, as will be later explained. Of course, the pocket I4 should be of the proper size to receive the casing containing the stamp or other item to be collected, and preferably also to receive the retaining member which holds the casing in place. I have found that satisfactory results are obtained by making the pocket extend the greater portion of the length of the card as shown in the drawings, although the pocket may be of any desired proportional size.

Extending through the face or top surface of the card and communicating internally with the pocket hi are a pair of windows 16 and it], one of which is adapted to display the collected item disposed in the pocket, and the other of which is adapted to display a panel on which the information relating to the item may be inscribed. The size of the window openings l6 and i8 is discretionary, depending upon the use to which the device is devoted. In the forms of my invention shown in the first five figures of the drawings, I have illustrated the device as being used for collecting sets of four stamps and the window opening I6 is, accordingly, of sufficient size to display a set of four stamps, and the window opening I8 is somewhat smaller. As the pocket i4 is provided internally of the card, the car-d is somewhat thicker than the usual filing card and may be made of several layers of material 20, 22 and 24, suitably secured together as by an adhesive. The central layer 22 may be stamped out in the shape of the pocket while the lower layer 2!! is left blank and the outer layer 24 is stamped with the two window openings.

Variations in thickness may be obtained by employing layers of different thickness or by chang ing the number of layers employed.

Referring now more specifically to the form of my invention shown in the first five figures of the drawings, when the master card has been constructed, as described above, I prefer to insert at the bottom of the pocket a sheet of background or mounting paper 26, preferably of a color to contrast with the collected item, so as to set it off and display it to the best advantage. I then provide a suitable casing 28, preferably made of transparent material, such as regenerated cellulose or cellulose acetate film or pyroXylin or the like, which may be formed of a single strip of material folded upon itself, as shown most clearly in Fig. 4:. The construction of the casing described above and illustrated in Fig. 4 is relatively simple and facilitates the insertion and the removal of the stamp or other item to be collected, but other types of transparent casings may also be employed.

The casing is of a Width to fit through the window opening IE but is somewhat longer than the window opening soas to project beneath the outer surface 24 of the card beyond the window opening it so that the casing may be held in position in the envelope. The fact that the end of the casing projects beneath the outer surface of the card aids in holding it in the pocket provided in the car-d. However, to insure against accidental displacement of the casing, I provide a locking member 39 in the form of a small card, likewise of a width to fit through the window opening I5 into the pocket and of a length to extend from the left end of the pocket viewed in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings substantially to the edge of the window opening I6.

In assembling the device the stamps IE3, or other item to be collected, are placed between the two layers of casing 28 and the casing is inserted through window it into the pocket l4 and positioned so that the stamps are displayed through window l6 as shown. After the casing 28 has been inserted in the pocket as described the retaining member 3t is then inserted through the window opening l5 and shoved into position at the other end of the pocket on top of the free ends of the casing 28 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. To enable the retaining member to firmly hold the casing in position and to prevent it from becoming accidentally displaced, it should be of sufficient thickness to have pressure contact against the outer layer 24 of the card and also the two free ends of the transparent casing. The retaining member is then displayed through the window l8 providing a panel on which suitable inscriptions relating to the stamp or collected item may be written or printed. For this purpose the displayed portion of the retaining member 3% is of a color to clearly display the printed or written matter thereon.

In the form of my invention shown in Figs. 6 through 8, the master card i2 is substantially the same construction, having the window openings it? and 53 formed therein communicating with the pocket it. However, the portion of the pocket which is beneath the window opening l6 and which contains the collected item is somewhat deeper than the remaining portion of the pocket, and the pocket is provided with a lateral extension indicated at 32 communicating with the side edge of the card at the side adjacent the window opening i8. To produce the variations in depth of the pocket i i, the central layer 22 of the card may be stamped with an opening extending completely through the card at the deeper portion of the pocket and may be merely reduced. in thickness at the remaining portion of the card, as indicated at 34.

In this form of my invention, I likewise provide a transparent casing 28 similar to the one previously described, with the exception that the casing is somewhat shorter, being of substantially the same length as the window opening l6. As in the first form of my invention, the stamp H], or other collected item, is inserted inside the casing and the casing is then inserted through the window opening l6 into the pocket l4. To aid in holding the casing in position in this form of my invention, I preferably form the outer layer 24 of the master card with a portion projecting slightly over the end of the window opening I6 so as to provide a ledge 36 which engages the outer edge of the casing 28 adjacent the folded-over end thereof.

The retaining member 38 in this form of my invention is preferably of a width to fit through the window opening iii and of a length to extend substantially the entire length of the pocket l4 and has formed therein an opening 40 for displaying the stamp or collected item, and is also provided with a projecting portion 42 which extends through the opening 32 to the outside of the card, thereby providing a convenient indexing tab for the assembly. The opening 40 provided in the retaining member is of a size and shape to properly display the stamp or other collected item, the adjacent sections of the retaining member forming a mat for the stamp, as shown in Fig. 6. In the drawings the opening do is illustrated as being triangular in shape for use in association with a triangular-1y shaped stamp.

In assembling the device a stamp accordingly is placed in the casing 28 which is inserted in the deeper portion of the pocket I4 through the window opening [6 and the retaining member 38 is then inserted through the window opening l6, so that the tab 42 projects through the opening 32 at the side of the card. The stamp will then be displayed through the window opening 46 formed in the retaining member and the window opening I6 formed in the outer surface of the master card, adjacent portions of the retaining-member providing a mat as explained above. A blank portion of the card or retaining member 38 will also be displayed through the window opening l8 forming a panel on which suitable information may be inscribed.

In the form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10 of the drawings, the pocket I4 is preferably of uniform width and depth, extending from a point adjacent the right-hand end of the card, as viewed in Figs. 9 and 10, and extending to and communicating with the left-hand side of the card. In this form of my invention, the re taining member 44 is somewhat thicker than in the other forms of my invention and is of a greater length to extend the entire length of the pocket and to project at the outer end thereof, forming an index tab 41. The retaining member 44 is provided with a recessed portion or pocket 46 for receiving the stamp and transparent casing and positioned so as to be displayed through the window I 8, and at the bottom of the recessed portion 46 I preferably provide a strip of background paper 48.

The casing 50, similar in construction to the casing 28 previously described but somewhat smaller, is inserted in the recess 46 with its two ends secured in the body of the retaining member 44 adjacent the recessed portion 46 as illustrated at 52. In this way the casing is firmly held in position in the retaining member, the stamp I!) being inserted therein through the longitudinal open edges of the casing. In this form of my invention the outer layer 24 is likewise preferably formed with the overlapping ledge 36 similar to that shown in Figs. 6 and '7.

When the retaining member 44 has been formed as described with a recessed portion or pocket 46, having the casing 50 therein and a stamp has been inserted between the two layers of the casing, it may be inserted in the master card in the manner ofa slide through the side edge thereof until the end of the card seats against the opposite end of the pocket [4. The recessed portion 46 is positioned so that a stamp contained in the casing 50 will then be displayed through the window opening I8 and a blank portion of the retaining member will be displayed through the window opening l6 so that suitable information may be inscribed thereon. An index tab 41 is provided by the projecting end of the retaining member. The retaining member 44 is, of course, of a size to have frictional engagement with the sides of the pocket so as to be retained against accidental displacement.

From the foregoing description of the several embodiments of my invention, it will be appreciated that I have provided an improved cataloguing device especially suited for use in philately, which is simple and relatively inexpensive in construction, which can be filed in compact form, which permits of infinite variation and specialization in collecting, which clearly displays the stamps and protects them from becoming accidentally displaced or from being mutilated when inserted or removed from the device, and which may be carefully indexed and may be inscribed with additional information relating to the collected items.

It is to be understood that many modifications may be made in the illustrated embodiments of my invention, such as varying the number, shape and size of the window openings and varying the size and shape of the master card and pocket formed therein. It is also to be understood that the stamp or collected item may be displayed through either of the window openings as desired, and that the form and construction of the transparent casing may be modified or adapted to meet particular conditions. Moreover, information relative to the collected item may be written or printed not only on the panel displayed through one of the window openings but also on portions of the master card, such as on the rear thereof. The transparent casing may also be held in position by an adhesive if desired. Under certain circumstances the transparent casing may be dispensed with altogether and the stamp or other item will then be held in position by the retaining member.

I claim:

1. A cataloguing device comprising a master card having formed therein a pocket and a window opening in one surface communicating with said pocket, a casing for a stamp or similar item disposed in said pocket and provided with a transparent portion exposed through said opening and retaining means comprising a removable card disposed in said pocket and having engagement with a portion of said casing and a side of the pocket for holding the casing in position.

2. A cataloguing device comprising a master card having formed therein a pocket and a plurality of window openings communicating with said pocket, a casing for a stamp or similar item disposed in said pocket and provided with a transparent portion exposed through one of said openings, and retaining means for holding said casing in the pocket and having a portion exposed through another window opening so as to provide an inscription panel.

3. A cataloguing device comprising a master card having formed therein a pocket and a plurality of window openings communicating with said pocket, .a casing for a stamp or similar item disposed in said pocket and provided with a transparent portion exposed through one of said openings, and retaining means comprising a card disposed in said pocket and having frictional engagement with a portion of said casing and a side of the pocket for holding the casing in position, said card having a portion exposed through another window opening so .as to provide an inscription panel.

4. A cataloguing device comprising a card having formed therein a pocket and a window opening in one surface communicating with said pocket, a casing for a stamp or similar item disposed in said pocket and provided with a transparent portion exposed through said opening, means for retaining said casing in position, and an index tab formed integral with the retaining means projecting beyond one edge of said card.

5. A cataloguing device comprising a master card having formed therein a pocket and a window opening in one surface communicating with said pocket, a casing for a stamp or similar item disposed in said pocket and provided with a transparent portion eixposed through said opening, and retaining means comprising a removable card disposed in said pocket and having engagement with a portion of said casing and a side of the pocket for holding the casing in position, said card being formed with a projecting portion extending through one side of the master card so as to provide an index tab.

6. A cataloguing device comprising a master card having formed therein a pocket and a window opening in one surface communicating with said pocket, a casing for a stamp or similar item disposed in said pocket andprovided with a transparent portion exposed through said opening, and retaining means comprising a removable card formed with an opening disposed in said pocket and positioned above said casing so as to provide a mat for the stamp or similar item.

'7. A cataloguing device comprising a card provided with a pocket intermediate the two surfaces of the card and communicating at one end with an edge of the card and having formed in one surface thereof a window opening communicating with the pocket, a casing for a stamp or similar item disposed in said pocket and provided with a transparent portion exposed through said opening, and retaining means including a removable card normally disposed in said pocket for holding said casing in position, said retaining means being insertable in and removable from said pocket through the end thereof communicating with the edge of the card and having a portion normally projecting beyond the edge of the card to serve as an index tab.

8. A cataloguing device for collectors items comprising a card having formed therein a pocket for receiving the collectors item and a window opening in one surface communicating with the pocket and adapted to display the item, and means including a removable card for holding the item in position beneath the window.

9. A cataloguing device for collectors items comprising a card having formed therein a pocket for receiving the collectors item and a plurality of window openings communicating with the pocket, and retaining means including a removable card for holding the item in position beneath one of the Window openings and having a portion exposed through another of said openings so as to provide an inscription panel.

CURTIS A. LIMBACH. 

